PHOENIX, Ariz. – No. 3 Lewis men's volleyball picked up their eighth straight victory with a 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 25-16, 25-23) win at Grand Canyon on Sunday (Feb. 8) afternoon in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match at Antelope Gymnasium.
 
"I think the guys grinded it out," Lewis head coach Dan Friend said. "Road conference matches are always tough and Grand Canyon is going to have some big wins this year. Winning the second match out here has been a challenge. In the past we've gone five with them a few times."
 
Lewis' loss in set two on Sunday broke a streak of 12 straight sets won by the Flyers. It would have ended a set earlier in the first if not for an impressive comeback from the Flyers. Lewis trailed Grand Canyon 20-15 when the Flyers ripped off five straight points to tie the score at 20. Despite the run, it was Grand Canyon first to set point at 24-22 but the Flyers weren't about to be denied. A Grand Canyon service error followed a Lewis timeout for point 23. A Grand Canyon attack error tied the score at 24. The Antelopes took a timeout but after the break senior Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) and junior Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) combined for a block to put the Flyers up. Serving for the set, senior Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) ripped an ace for point 26 and the win. Petty won sets one and two with aces on Friday against Grand Canyon.
 
The third frame took another impressive scoring run. The game was tied at 16 when Lewis finished the frame with nine straight points. Sophomore Jacob Schmiegelt (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) had an ace in the run. Petty contributed three kills in the game winning push.Grand Canyon held an 18-16 lead in the fourth set before Lewis went on a 7-2 run to grab a 19-18 lead. The Flyers were able to close the set out from that point.
 
"In game two our passing broke down a bit but in three and four we stayed steady and were able to put it away," Friend said.

Lewis hit .346 with junior Scott Fifer (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) recording 30 assists and freshman Gert Lisha (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) notching 20 assists.
 
"We've made the change (at setter) a couple times this year in the front row and we stayed with it today," Friend said. "Gert did a nice job running the offense for us and did some nice things at the net."
 
A trio of Flyers combined to get 54 of Lewis' 63 kills. Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) led Lewis with 20 while hitting .432. Powell put down 18 kills thanks to a .455 hitting percentage. Petty finished with 16 kills. Fitterer and Powell were each a dig short of a double-double by notching nine. They helped the Flyers out-dig the Antelopes 51-42 with senior libero Lucas Yanez (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) recording a season-high 12 digs.
 
Lewis improves to 10-1 (2-0 MIVA). The Antelopes fall to 5-4 (0-2 MIVA). The Flyers continue MIVA play on Thursday (Feb. 12) at Ball State.